BOUQUETS and BRICKBATS

By Enterprise editorial staff

Published 1:00 am, Saturday, December 22, 2012

Bouquets go to:

-- Kountze native Cody Teel, 20, for become one of the youngest bull riders to become a world champion with the Pro Rodeo Cowboys Association. Teel left Las Vegas with championship-winnings equaling $201,978 for the year, a saddle and a Gold Buckle that is now in Montana to get his name engraved on it. He also was the first two-time Texas High School Rodeo State Championship winner in 2009 and 2010. In 2011, he took home the collegiate championship while attending Sam Houston State. "It was great, it was my first time out there," Cody said Monday of the world championships. "I had never been there before to watch or anything so it was all a first-time experience for me and it made it seem that much more special."

-- Ozen junior defensive back Tony Brown, for being named to the American Family Insurance All-USA Team for Second Team Defense, compiled by USA Today. Brown is one of four Texans included in the All-USA teams. Of those four, he is the only junior. Brown, who currently holds scholarship offers from 20 colleges, is still undecided on where he wants to attend. Tuesday, he was ranked as the No.3 football player in the Class of 2014 by Tom Lemming of MaxPreps.com. This season, he had 46 tackles, four forced fumbles and an interception for the Panthers. Brown has been on varsity since his freshman year.

-- The staff and committee members of the Habitat for Humanity ReStore in Beaumont, for winning the World Habitat Day contest from among over 150 participating Habitat ReStores throughout the country. They raised the most money nationwide through their World Habitat Day events this past September and October. The local ReStore raised $1,500 and won a $500 credit to shop at the Habitat online store for ReStore supplies and apparel.

-- Former Central defensive end Kewan Alfred, for signing a letter of intent on Wednesday morning in the Central High School library to play with Memphis. Alfred spent the last two years at Trinity Valley Community College. He was the 93rd-rated junior college prospect in the country by ESPN and chose Memphis over Ole Miss, UNLV, New Mexico, and North Texas. "When I first took my visit, there was a family feeling as soon as I got on campus," Alfred said. "It wasn't like a recruiting trip, it felt like I was already there." Alfred will enroll at Memphis for the spring semester, which starts on January 17.

Brickbats go to:

-- A Houston-area man who pleaded guilty to possession of a bald eagle he wanted to train for hunting. Federal prosecutors say 53-year-old Sam Mathew of Missouri City remains free on bond pending sentencing in February, and he faces up to six months in prison. A jury on Monday convicted Mathew of violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Prosecutors say Mathew, who was indicted in May, intended to catch a juvenile bald eagle and train it in falconry. Evidence indicated there was an active bald eagle nest on Mathew's property and he had already researched how to capture the bird. A spokeswoman for prosecutors says the bird was taken to a sanctuary.